Historical fiction, The Ekkos Clan combines the struggle for survival with Kubha's determination to safeguard her lineage in turbulent times

The Partition of India was not just about the creation of Pakistan. East Bengal was born too as families were charred to death and women were raped and consequently committed suicide. And there were women like Kubha, who survived despite everything. Together with his best friend Tista and language paleontologist Afsar Fareedi, Stanford graduate Kratu sets about uncovering the codes to his grandmother Kubha's clan from the Hindu Kush mountains. The Ekkos Clan is a folktale packaged for the contemporary reader.

Where did the idea come from? Kubha's story is inspired from my grandmother's story. She was married at the age of 16 to a man 30 years older. My grandmother's youngest step daughter (my aunt) was older than her. My aunt would tell us stories about my grandmother, about her struggles and her growing up. Combining history with these tales came from Steven Spielberg and Dan Brown's narratives. I am immensely inspired by the Indiana Jones series. I have always been a fan of the way Spielberg made archaeologists cool, unlike the boring stereotype of one who is just digging sites. In 2008, when I decided to write a book, I discovered that in Indian writing there weren't many period novels, or historical fiction books, so I decided to work on this idea.

It's a women-centric story -- is it because you come from West Bengal where women are considered as powerful as Goddess Durga? My women characters, be they Kubha or Afsar Fareedi, are in control. It's not because I come from a particular region. Indian women are very strong, even in rural areas they lead a challenging life. This is a tribute to Indian women. Though Afsar is a modern Pakistani character, her character is like that of a contemporary Indian.

What was the crux of your research? I read a lot but I attribute the idea germination to Harvard Indologist Michael Witzel's paper on the importance of Rig Veda — how it is important to create the chronology of languages. This paper held my research together.

Throughout the book, the story shows the good and the bad among Bangla Muslims and towards the end there is a reference to the RSS — which on the face of it appears to be your critical opinion about the group. I'll give you a context to what I have written. I have been fascinated by Rabindranath Tagore's writing that pieces history together. I wanted to bring out the lesser known facts about Bangladesh partition. The local Muslims never fought with Hindus. Communal riots were orchestrated by external forces. That's why my Bengali Muslim characters like Abdul, Salma and Fazlul are honest and sincere and always with Kubha trying to save her (unlike rapist Rehmath). Talking of the RSS, I haven't shown them in a wrong light. The way I look at it is that the RSS was founded to train Indian youth and make the Indian league stronger. I brought them into my story to create interest and also to let people know that if I am talking of safeguarding my culture, it doesn't mean I am a fanatic.

Yours is a cliched transition — from IIT-Kharagpur to an entrepreneur and now a writer. I had already worked for 10 years. I was doing well, but my only signature on this world was my son. After I died and after my son left the world, people would forget me. I had been writing since my college days, and that's when I realised that I must get back to writing because this would be my signature. Even writing a single line is creative and this is what is unique to me.

You also got your book reviewed by The Literary Consultancy in the UK before sending it to publishers, how much did you pay and was it helpful? (Laughs) They charge a lot of money. I paid about £700. But they do a thorough review of your book. They are so encouraging that I was all the more determined to bring out the book. One of the critical feedbacks was on the characters — if not for that, the women would have been weak.